Colorado Governor Proclamation

WHEREAS, the Armenian people were subject to severe persecution and brutal injustice at the hands of their oppressors during the "First Genocide of the Twentieth Century," or the "Forgotten Genocide;" and

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide began with the murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and political, religious, and business leaders who were arrested and taken from their homes in Constantinople before dawn on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, the 1.5 million American Armenians who have made the United States their home have greatly enriched our nation through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, science, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, April 24 serves as a reminder of the Armenian Genocide and provides Armenians around the world with an opportunity to observe a time of renewal, rededication, and subdued celebration of their survival; and

WHEREAS, the State of Colorado joins the Armenian-American community in its annual observance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 - 1923 to raise awareness of this unconscionable tragedy so that we may better understand the importance of eliminating hatred in our own communities;

Therefore, I, Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of the State of Colorado, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2010,

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY

in the State of Colorado.

GIVEN under my hand and the Executive Seal of the State of Colorado, this twenty-second day of April, 2010